Scientists: Pollution could combat global warming

CNN.com ^

[Mazda3Fan]

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Air pollution may be just the thing to fight global warming, some scientists say.

Prominent scientists, among them a Nobel laureate, said a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet.

[Mazda3Fan]

Ok, I admit it, global warming just keeps getting more and more convoluted to me.

[#1CTYankee]

" a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet."

WTF, Why not just have the space shuttle put some blinds and hook up a nifty remote to it.

We could just keep it dark for an extra few hours every weekend morning.

I could use the extra sleep.

[RobFromGa]

China is leading the fight against global warming then...

(they are the #1 polluter in the world).

The real problem is the sun, if we could get rid of it, then our warming problems would be solved.

[palmer]

Philip Clapp, a veteran campaigner for emissions controls to curb warming, also sounded a nervous note, saying, "We are already engaged in an uncontrolled experiment by injecting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere."

Actually the uncontrolled experiment is the running of climate models to see if they match reality and they mostly don't. Once the models match and if they predict warming, then they can also be used to implement a cheap solution such as the "pollution" suggested in the article. The key point is: if you don't trust the models to allow modeling the effects of inserting particles to block the sun, then you cannot trust them to properly model the effects of CO2 warming with feedback (which is a much harder calculation due to the weather feedback effects). If a scientist is sure that CO2 causes warming then if he is honest he would be even more sure of how to stop it inexpensively.

[Jeff Chandler]

In a perfect world, air pollution would combat global warming.

Not only that, but the chloroflourocarbons would escape through the hole in the ozone layer, Yoko would have stepped in front of John, and so forth...

[SunkenCiv]

alas...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1739598/posts

[chessplayer]

"A massive dissemination of pollutants would be needed every year or two, as the sulfates precipitate from the atmosphere in acid rain."

Isn`t acid rain the stuff thats killing the worlds lakes and streams? And they want to create more of it?